The British End of the British Empire

The end of empire in Britain itself is illuminated through explorations of its impact on key domestic institutions.

Sarah Stockwell (Author)

9781107680883, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 16 January 2020

351 pages, 22 b/w illus. 9 tables
23 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.51 kg

'Any sophisticated grasp of the peculiarly British dimensions of global decolonization in the decades after 1945 needs to come to grips with the empire's domestic institutional stakeholders. In this meticulous study, Sarah Stockwell delivers just that. Brimming with insights, The British End of the British Empire reveals how the institutional framework of empire persisted, and at times even flourished, in a changing world.' Stuart Ward, University of Copenhagen

How did decolonization impact on Britain itself? And how did Britain manage its transition from colonial power to postcolonial nation? Sarah Stockwell explores this question principally via the history of the overseas engagements of key institutions that had acquired roles within Britain's imperial system: the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, the Bank of England, the Royal Mint, and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Using a huge range of fresh archival sources, the author shows how these institutions fashioned new roles at the end of empire, reconfiguring their activities for a postcolonial world and deploying their expertise to deliver technical assistance essential for the development of institutions in new Commonwealth states. This study not only pioneers an entirely new approach to the history of the British end of the British empire, but also provides an equally novel cross-sectoral analysis of institution-building during decolonization and highlights the colonial roots of British postcolonial aid.

1. The imperial roles of British institutions
2. Technical assistance and state building at the end of empire
3. Teaching what 'the natives need to know': the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and training for overseas public administration
4. 'Education and propaganda': the Bank of England and the development of central banking in African states at the end of empire
5. Making Money: the Royal Mint and British decolonization
6. 'Losing an empire and winning friends': Sandhurst and British decolonization.

Subject Areas: Colonialism & imperialism [HBTQ], Postwar 20th century history, from c 1945 to c 2000 [HBLW3], 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], British & Irish history [HBJD1]